Obsessive About Tools

In the musical revue Sondheim on Sondheim, the composer says the following in one of his video narrations:

I write on yellow pads. I prefer the kind that have exactly 32 lines on them, because it means that you can make alternate choices of words in between two lines. If there are too many lines, there isn’t enough space. If there are too few lines, there’s too much space.

I absolutely do not think that you will write more like Sondheim if your yellow pads have 32 lines. However, I do think you will come closer to realizing your goals if you become at least a little bit obsessive about your tools.

Don’t steal Sondheim’s, though. He found his by experimenting, and finding a concrete reasoning to justify his choose. Do the same: experiment with different tools until you know exactly what you want the tool to do. Then find the perfect tool to do that job for you.